Share this:

Creating a new holiday tradition might sound straightforward, but when it comes to the performing arts, balancing creative ferment with entertainment and uplift is actually a very rare feat.

Designing a show with enduring appeal to keep audiences engaged year after year requires an alchemist of the highest order — someone like choreographer-showman Michael Smuin, who created “The Christmas Ballet” in 1995 as a moveable family-friendly feast with more flavors than Baskin-Robbins.

Since then, “The Christmas Ballet” has become a beloved Bay Area tradition and the foundation of the company’s fiscal year. In a season when nutcrackers and sugarplum fairies dominate the dance landscape, Smuin, who died in 2007, thought to create a diverse and ever-changing holiday showcase for his company’s rigorous classical technique and Broadway-tinged theatricality. The Smuin Ballet brings the show to the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts Wednesday through next Sunday.

“What’s amazing is that Michael created such a thing out of nothing,” says Celia Fushille, a founding member of Smuin Ballet, who took over as artistic director following Smuin’s death. “I don’t think he ever imagined it would become the tradition it has. Every year people come up to me and say, ‘Until I see that show, my holiday hasn’t started.’ ”

“The Christmas Ballet” retains its original format, opening with the tradition-minded “Classical Christmas” section and closing with the playful razzle-dazzle of “The Cool Christmas.” With nearly three-dozen pieces, the program travels from the deliciously ridiculous (Elvis’ gyrations on “Blue Christmas” and the trio of chainsaw-felled Douglas firs in “Droopy Little Christmas Tree”) to the sublime: a deceptively simple setting for the traditional carol “Veni, Veni Emmanuel,” featuring a procession of eight women, arms linked and heads bowed in quiet adoration. Another “Classical” high point is “Largo,” an elegant pas de deux set to music by Corelli.

“The music is just beautiful, and the movement is very slow and sustained,” says Smuin veteran Shannon Hurlburt, who is also featured on the “Cool Christmas” favorite “Bells of Dublin,” with music by the Chieftains. “Every piece has such a different feel. We need to be versatile enough to do something like ‘Largo,’ and “… ‘Bells.’ It helps you retain your versatility. Everybody has to switch hats. “…”

During his lifetime, Smuin kept tinkering with “The Christmas Ballet,” and the company has continued to treat this classic as a sturdy, living organism that evolves to reflect the strengths of the dancers. This season, the company’s resident choreographer, Amy Seiwart, is premiering a new “Cool Christmas” piece set to Aaron Neville’s aching rendition of “Please Come Home for Christmas.” Known for her rigorously constructed non-narrative works, Seiwart has tried her hand at a dance with emotionally resonant characterization.

“It’s a story of the ugly duckling, with a bittersweet feel,” says Susan Roemer, who’s featured in the piece. “It goes to show how much fun it can be to feel a little awkward sometimes. The movement is difficult, meant to look a little quirky. It’s narrative, but it’s definitely got Amy’s style. You can tell she’s drawing on her own experience for this character.”

The new pieces not only keep “The Christmas Ballet” fresh for fans but provide the dancers with opportunities for creative growth. For longtime company members like Hurlburt, who’s performed “The Christmas Ballet” nearly 300 times, that’s as valuable as having a holiday program unlike any other troupe’s.

“For us to have such a successful alternative to ‘The Nutcracker’ is genius,” Hurlburt says. “Michael did something special. We don’t really compete with the ‘Nutcracker’ or ‘White Christmas’; we’ve got our own thing, and it really captures the company’s singular identity, and that really reflects Michael’s vision.”

Elon Musk unveiled his underground transportation tunnel on Tuesday, allowing reporters and invited guests to take some of the first rides in the revolutionary albeit bumpy subterranean tube — the tech entrepreneur's answer to what he calls "soul-destroying traffic."